


this isn't like you

by kiiller_koii



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, but its like, i guess, pearlmethyst - Freeform, steven's oblivious, subtle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23244430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiiller_koii/pseuds/kiiller_koii
Summary: When Pearl is out on a mission with Bismuth, Steven attempts to figure out why another Crystal Gem is acting so odd.
Relationships: Amethyst/Pearl (Steven Universe)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	this isn't like you

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place after the events of change your mind, but before anything in suf! 
> 
> this is kind of just. a test. i'll be writing something with better shipping fuel soon ;)

A childlike glint shone in Steven’s starry eyes as he ceremoniously placed the strawberry into the delicate fluff of the whip-cream, sighing as it touched the perfect spot. Together Breakfast had been a once-a-month thing recently, as all of the gems had missed spending this time together. Steven was older now, and he’d grown out of most such things, but sometimes he just couldn’t resist. He took the plate into his hands and placed it onto the center of the counter with a gentle grin. He placed his hands on his hips and admired his work, sighing before calling out.

“Guys!” He started, waving to Garnet and Amethyst from their place on the couch. “Together breakfast is ready!”

Together Breakfast… and yet, it wasn’t really that, was it? Not when they weren’t all together.

Three weeks had passed since Pearl and Bismuth had gone on their mission, and Steven was pretty bummed not to have her around. Sure, they’d ended the Diamonds’ reign of terror, but there were still corrupted gems crawling the earth, even past Beach City, and they needed the Crystal Gems to save them from their mind’s prison. Bismuth had been so excited to be a part of the family again, so Pearl had volunteered to take her out to help. Apparently their trek was more than they’d bargained for. Steven wasn’t a kid anymore, so this wasn’t anything like when Pearl had poofed a few years back. He was alright, he was held up fine, but it still sucked to have one less gem in the house.

Disregarding Steven himself, it was someone else he was worried about. 

The purple gem’s face twisted into a rather uncomfortable-looking frown, head propped on her hand as she sighed, lost in her own thoughts. Short fingers tapped on the surface of her left thigh, eyebrows knit and leg jumping. It was uncharacteristic for someone of Amethyst’s nature, who was usually slung relaxed over the arm of the couch, laughing and immediately on her feet when food was out and ready for her. Now she was distracted, occupied thinking about  _ something,  _ something that even Steven himself couldn’t decipher. He scratched the side of his cheek with a subtle hum of contemplation before something touched his shoulder.

“W-Woah! Oh. Sorry, Garnet, you scared me!” He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepishly up towards the taller gem. He was graced in reply with a gentle smile and a nod of acknowledgment as the fusion adjusted her visor from where it had jostled on her nose- she’d had to move her head back when Steven flared his arms outwards in surprise. Nothing she wasn’t used to. 

“Amethyst…?” He then piped up. “A-Amethyst, uh, breakfast is ready.” Steven’s head tilted slightly to the side at the lack of response, it seemed that she truly was in her own world. He looked up back towards Garnet with a questioning bite of his lip. “Is she okay?”

Garnet paused before answering as she, too, took a gander at the gem in question. “I don’t know.” She finally spoke, crossing muscled arms overtop her chest. She leaned forward, her tall figure casting a looming shadow overtop the marble counter. “Amethyst.” She called, her voice booming and firm enough to get her point across, but gentle still. 

At this, Amethyst finally snapped out of her odd trance-like state, shaking her head vigorously as a dog would. “Huh? Oh. Heh, sorry about that.” Her eyes looked tired, at least for a being that didn’t need sleep, and her clothes were a bit disheveled around the edges. It might’ve looked a little strange for Steven to study her so intently as she did something so simple as a walk to the counter, but now he was set on solving this. It wasn’t exhaustion, no. Steven knew exhaustion. He’d seen the gems in tired states. This wasn’t that. Something different. Something… sad, maybe.

“Uh… you doin’ alright, dude?” A purple hand waved in front of his face and Steven did a bit of a double-take, a step backward onto the wooden floor. 

“Oh, ha, yeah!” He flushed slightly, a hand drifting through his curly hair. 

When he didn’t elaborate, Amethyst shrugged her shoulders. “Er.. right. Whatever.” She offered a vaguely confused smile and hopped up onto one of the stools. The youngest gem watched as she simply sat and eyed the food.

Now that was out of character. 

“Ehh... I’m not really hungry, think I’ll pass today.”

This earned equally bewildered gazes from both Steven and Garnet, which got a nervous smile in return from Amethyst. 

“I mean, I had a ton of midnight snacks last night, y’know? Anyway, I’m good.” She laughed idly with a slightly panicked grin, before hopping back down to her feet and stumbling up to play video games on Steven’s TV. 

That couldn't be it. Steven would've heard the refrigerator open last night if that were true.

When the television turned on, he noticed that she picked out Lonely Blade, which she hadn’t played in quite some time. 

Maybe that should've told him something.

Steven and Garnet finished off the breakfast themselves (but it was mostly Steven), and then moved on with their day. By now, Steven was sat on the couch next to Garnet and his father, writing out the plans for the school they intended to build. They couldn’t get started for the foreseen future, seeing as Bismuth was out with Pearl, but they could plan. They occupied themselves with this for a while, until Steven paused to raise his head upwards at the sound of running water. He hadn’t even seen Amethyst down the stairs, but there she stood in front of the sink… washing dishes…? 

Steven admittedly hadn’t felt like cleaning up the mess he’d made while preparing breakfast- he was still a teen boy, even if he was also a Diamond overlord. In all honesty, Pearl was usually the one who did those things. She’d swoop in and take over for everyone else. simply because she wanted to. Steven supposed he still wasn’t used to her absence. 

Perhaps Amethyst wasn’t either.

By now, all eyes were on her. The words ‘Amethyst’ and ‘Cleaning’, usually never fit into the same sentence, unless it was Pearl scolding her over not helping out around the house. Even then, it was rare. Greg was the first to speak up.

“Um, hey Amethyst!” He offered with an uncertain wave. 

“What? Oh, hey Greg.” She only looked up for a few moments before returning her attention to the mess, tidying as thoroughly as seemed possible.

“So..” Steven scratched his temple with an awkward smile. “What are you doing over there?”

Amethyst looked at him like he was brainless. “Cleaning, I think. What’s it look like?”

The three on the couch exchanged glances before Steven rose to sandaled feet and walked to the kitchen. He stood rocking on his heels next to the shorter gem before saying something. “Hey… Amethyst, are you alright? This isn’t like you.”

“What?!” Amethyst bristled, turning toward him. She’d already grown defensive, which qued Steven in to know that something was definitely off. “I can’t just help around the house? Why can’t I?” She snarled, which prompted the taller to raise his hands out in front of him.

“Ah, n-no! That’s not what I meant!” He returned, shaking his head. “It’s just… I don’t know, you’ve seemed pretty off lately. I’m worried about you.”

The tension in Amethyst’s posture seemed to fade out upon Steven’s hand placed on her shoulder, a sigh escaping her chest. She hesitated, before speaking up again. 

“Yeah.. it’s- it’s just, ever since P-” 

Steven was so poised in his anticipation for the answer that he almost tripped upon a sudden noise from behind him. The sound of the house’s creaky door sliding open, and a new presence in the room. 

“Hey, everyone! Did’ja miss me?” 

Rainbow hair poured over the bulky-sized gem’s shoulders as her large hand fell from the doorknob. Bismuth kicked the door shut and trotted towards the others with a tentative smile on her face.

“Bismuth!” Came the exclamation from multiple in the room, everyone except for one coming to approach the returning guest. As one would guess, Amethyst was the gem who didn’t move from her spot.

“...Uh, where’s Pearl?” The purple gem asked uncertainly, igniting the same question within the others.

“Oh! Ah, she..” Bismuth pursed her lips as she pulled the oval-shaped white gem from a pocket in her overalls. She presented it in gentle hands, frowning sadly. “She saved me from one’a those corrupted emeralds out there… poor gal really got crushed.” 

Before Steven could reply there came a clattering of pots on the ground, turning heads. Amethyst had started on her frantic run over to the group, leaving whatever she’d been working on in the kitchen behind. 

“What?! Oh, no, no-” The newcomer in the circle took the gem immediately from the larger’s hands and into her own, small ones. “Aw, man, P..”

Steven watched with a slightly open mouth as Amethyst’s brows knit together and her stature lowered and tensed with Pearl in her grasp.

“Oh, no! When do you think she’ll be back?” The young Universe questioned, a hand placed onto Bismuth’s bicep.

“Mmm.. hard to say. It’s been a couple of days now, carried her all along that whole way back, but I dunno. Pearl’s always been pretty particular about- oh.”

Pearl’s gem had since risen out of Amethyst’s hands and into the air, glowing gently as the aforementioned began to reform. They watched in quiet awe as she emerged and lowered to the ground- adorning the same form, jacket and all. It was simply too early to ditch that jacket, Steven supposed.

“Pearl! You’re back!” Steven moved to greet her, but Amethyst had beat him to it. 

“P! Aw, man, I missed you!” She greeted, almost appearing embarrassed as her own sweet words. But Steven’s face curled into a smile- the pair had come so far.

“Ah..? Ah..” Pearl chuckled gently, smiling down at the other. “Well, you know I can’t stay away from you…” She paused, a light blue blush coming to her pale face as she noticed the others in the room. “...You… all! F-For too long, eheh.”

Amethyst laughed bittersweetly and shook her head, a lighthearted show of what appeared to be a… slip up from Pearl?

...But what had slipped?

He watched as Amethyst latched onto Pearl, plump arms wrapping around the lithe torso of the taller gem, which was soon reciprocated after a moment of surprise. The words that the reunited two were much quieter now, nothing that Steven could make out without being accused of eavesdropping.

He stood next to Garnet with a smile on his face, nudging her with his elbow. “Man, they sure do care about each other a lot, now, don’t they?”

Garnet slowly took her visor from her face, now exposing all three eyes. Her lips had curled into a delicate smirk, arm opposite from Steven coming to rest on her hip. She looked as if swelling with pride, her face glowing in a gentle show of joy towards the scene. What could she be reveling in so gleefully, Steven wasn’t entirely sure? He wasn’t picking up the hints that were so obviously placed down for him. Garnet then spoke.

“Yes, Steven… It appears they do.”


End file.
